1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a security arrangement for managing a home security system or the like, and an in-vehicle terminal device as an information processing system for the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
An option to mount various kinds of information processing systems in a vehicle has recently become popular. Car navigation systems are representative of these type of information processing systems. In car navigation systems, map data recorded in DVD-ROM or the like are read out, the current position of a vehicle is displayed on a map by using GPS (Global Positioning System), and road guidance and other processing are carried out by inputting a destination, for example.
Furthermore, there has been proposed a system in which a hard disk is used as a recording medium for map data, etc., and a wireless communication function is included in the car navigation system to renew the map data through data communications. In addition, there has been also proposed a system in which a personal computer function is included in the car navigation system so that an Internet browser and electronic mail software are usable.
As described above, various proposals concerning high functionalization of the information processing system in a vehicle have been made. However, there has been a problem that utility of such an information processing system is relatively limited.
For example, there are still lots of people who do not have a vehicle particularly in urban areas of Japan because of restricted, expensive parking space, relatively well developed transportation facilities, etc. Even when people do possess vehicles, most of them use trains and busses for everyday commuting, and the time for which these people use vehicles is relatively short. Accordingly, even when a highly functional information processing system is made available, it is rare that the car owner installs it because of the few opportunities for users to actually use the same.
Furthermore, people in continental countries such as the U.S. considered vehicles to be merely a means of transport and have little motivation to spend money on such arrangements. Therefore, in these type of continental countries, expensive information processing arrangements do not enjoy a high popularity. With respect to car navigation systems, an inhibition to wide-spread used resides in that people can relatively easily drive to their destinations without using any navigational assistance.
On the other hand, particularly the United States of America, people have developed a high interest in home security and crime-prevention related products have become more popular than in many other countries.